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There has been an explosion of statin off-label use studies going public over the past 6 months. The reason? There was much speculation about the off-label uses for statins starting around 1997 when researchers first saw their effect on inflammation. This launched hundreds of studies as researches attempted to see how many conditions statins could be used to treat. These studies are running their course and the data is going public, it's an exciting time. Here is one of the most recent concerning a disease that has shown a resistance to any other treatment except statins;

Simvastatin, a cheap cholesterol lowering drug, might be a potential treatment option for the secondary progressive, or chronic, stage of multiple sclerosis, which is currently untreatable, results of a phase 2 study suggest. Findings from the trial showed that a high, daily dose of simvastatin was safe, well tolerated, and slowed brain atrophy (shrinkage) by 43% over two years compared with placebo

29 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:Statin may slow untreatable, progressive stage of multiple sclerosisThere has been an explosion of statin off-label use studies going public over the past 6 months. The reason? There was much speculation about the off-label uses for statins starting around 1997 when researchers first saw their effect on inflammation. This launched hundreds of studies as researches attempted to see how many conditions statins could be used to treat. These studies are running their course and the data is going public, it's an exciting time. Here is one of the most recent concerning a disease that has shown a resistance to any other treatment except statins;

Simvastatin, a cheap cholesterol lowering drug, might be a potential treatment option for the secondary progressive, or chronic, stage of multiple sclerosis, which is currently untreatable, results of a phase 2 study suggest. Findings from the trial showed that a high, daily dose of simvastatin was safe, well tolerated, and slowed brain atrophy (shrinkage) by 43% over two years compared with placebo

And there's the hypocrisy. Some people complain about words like "may" and "can" and "perhaps" and say therefore the paper is of no value. These are the same people that run around pointing to the FDA warning on statins, loaded with "may", "can" "perhaps".

If some don't want to believe, they won't. They will always find a reason to stick with their comfortable core beliefs. It's safe and easy.

It's all about beliefs and an unwillingness to get past outdated thinking. Statin related neuropathy occurs in 1 out of 10,000 patients on statins, you have a better chance of being harmed by Ibuprofen.

People living with late-stage multiple sclerosis (MS) could have their condition significantly improved by taking statins, doctors have found, in a "surprise" discovery which could be of major benefit to thousands of sufferers.

In results described as "very exciting" by the leading MS charity, researchers found that taking a large daily dose of statins, which are commonly used to reduce the risk of heart disease, could also slow the progression of MS in its later, more debilitating phase.

Patients who took the drugs over two years experienced less severe symptoms of disability, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans revealed that their brains shrank at a slower rate than patients who took a placebo.

People living with late-stage multiple sclerosis (MS) could have their condition significantly improved by taking statins, doctors have found, in a "surprise" discovery which could be of major benefit to thousands of sufferers.

In results described as "very exciting" by the leading MS charity, researchers found that taking a large daily dose of statins, which are commonly used to reduce the risk of heart disease, could also slow the progression of MS in its later, more debilitating phase.

Patients who took the drugs over two years experienced less severe symptoms of disability, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans revealed that their brains shrank at a slower rate than patients who took a placebo.

As a person with MS I can say you'll take any hope you can find. Is there anything wrong with that?

I bet in the 1880's they all would have thought that a vehicle that could take a person from San Francisco to New York in 6 hours was too good to be true as well. Good thing the next generations were not limited by their core beliefs. Now that's a more accurate comparison.

I bet in the 1880's they all would have thought that a vehicle that could take a person from San Francisco to New York in 6 hours was too good to be true as well. Good thing the next generations were not limited by their core beliefs. Now that's a more accurate comparison.

Results of a phase 2 study published in The Lancet suggest that simvastatin, a cheap cholesterol lowering drug, might be a potential treatment option for the secondary progressive, or chronic, stage of multiple sclerosis (MS), which is currently untreatable.

Findings from the MS-STAT trial showed that a high, daily dose of simvastatin was safe, well tolerated, and slowed brain atrophy (shrinkage) by 43% over two years compared with placebo. Longitudinal studies suggest that atrophy progression is linked with disability.

Findings from the MS-STAT trial showed that a high, daily dose of simvastatin was safe, well tolerated, and slowed brain atrophy (shrinkage) by 43% over two years compared with placebo. Longitudinal studies suggest that atrophy progression is linked with disability.

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